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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · bank · perch · field · scale · straw · wake · cap

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. scale — size or range
  4. perch — the fish
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cap — a hat
  16. scale — in music
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bank — of a river
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bank — for money
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bank — for money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com